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Posts Tagged ‘friendship’

Whoops! FMK Christmas Season Celebration 2019

Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Friendship, knitting, tagged , on August 13, 2020| Leave a Comment »

It has been an upside down year for sure – this 2020….but I find myself driven today to share the photos from our last FMK (Friday Morning Knitting Group) celebration in December 2019.  Our dear friend Jean is ill and I want to share these photos.

Sheri and Kimberly
Kimberly and Ellen
Sarah and Sheri
Merle and Cameron
Jean and Ellen
Jan and Connie
Kimberly and Ellen
Ellen, Carolyn and Merle
Ellen and Sarah
Ellen and Karen H
Debra and Jean
Connie, Ellen and Debra
Carolyn and Merle
Cameron, Janie and Jan
Cameron and Janie

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Saturday Morning Knit Group Celebration

Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Creativity, Friendship, Holiday, knitting, tagged , , , , on December 18, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Yes…..it was time for another ’tis the season’ celebration. Yesterday it was the Saturday Morning Knit Group. Diane generously hosted this event at her home where 18 of this group of 20 gathered for this potluck celebration. We missed Alison and Susan. Maybe we need another “just because” event in the Spring. Well…we did talk about how fun the gathering was and how much everyone enjoyed the dishes. Here’s the menu.

cornish-hensCornish Game Hens prepared by Bridgette were accompanied with……
Roasted cauliflower salad, egg casserole, green salads, tossed fruit bowls, scones with lemon curd, baked oatmeal, a potato dish and a curry dish. The salt and pepper chips with clam dip are always a hit. There were nuts and treats. Desserts included Rum-Mocha Walnut Layer Cake, ginger cake, pumpkin pie and cookies. All of this was accompanied with coffee and tea. We are saving champagne for our next celebration. Alice tells us that Rum-Mocha Cake recipe is very close in flavor to a family Hungarian torte that she use to make. Thanks to the chefs who chose recipes or adjusted recipes for those in the group who are gluten-free (gf). I thought the gf scones prepared by PJ were a smash….I will be making this recipe soon. Susan (who had to work) wrote, “Wow. Sorry I missed it, but I did derive vicarious enjoyment just reading the menu.

Alice’s recent post message sums up the lovely friendships that have formed within this group of knitters. “Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, whatever you celebrate! It’s my great joy to have shared this past year knitting with all of you, and to share in this morning’s feast!”

Many thanks to Rose for gifting us in a special way all in the spirit of thanks and friendship. And, of course, many thanks to Diane for hosting us all.

Looking forward to another year of knitting, creativity and friendship. Cheers!

 

 

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FMKG Annual Celebration 2016

Posted in Christmas, Events, Friendship, Holiday, Jewelry, knitting, tagged , , , , , on December 10, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Once again we, the Friday Morning Knitting Group, gathered to celebrate the season….we’ve been doing this for so many years that I can’t remember how many. For all of those years (except one) we have celebrated at SkatesOnTheBay on the Berkeley Marina. This year one of our beloved, Karen K, opened her home to our “catered” order from Picantes in Berkeley. Some of us brought desserts. And let’s not forget the margaritas…..how wonderful that Cameron and Sheri make the best.

There were fifteen of our group of eighteen who gathered to share the love and friendship that has grown from our initial love of knitting that brought us together. We missed three of our gang- one traveling  and two under the weather. We missed Connie, Patricia and Sandy but they were certainly in our thoughts.

The beauty of the setting in Karen’s home is that two tables were arranged so we could all see and hear each other…unlike restaurant settings where it has typically been a long table and we don’t get to visit easily with all. Well….we visited, ate, drank and had our “elephant” gift exchange. What a lovely time.

Round the table we go……

Desserts…

We toasted friendship and love…….and another toast for my news early this week that my PETscan was normal. Jewelry maker extraordinaire Mayra treated me with necklace like hers that I’ve been admiring….well coveting.

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Autumn Lace Shawl – Mayra

Posted in Crafting, Creativity, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , , on September 1, 2016| Leave a Comment »

IMG_0191We have had the pleasure of watching the making of this beautiful project by Mayra of the Friday Morning Knitting Group (FMKG). She has provided us with the facts with some notes from me.

  • Knitted shawl:  Autumn Lace by Svetlana Gordon from Ravelry
  • Yarn: for the leaves and edge – Malabrigo lace weight Color 866-arco iris.For the rest, I used the Malabrigo yarn with a peach mohair yarn.  Don’t know the name or brand but it was a very light peach color.  (Carolyn’s note – her choice of color makes a very vibrant pattern elegant.)
  • How long did it take? I only know that each full leaf would take one hour. No idea how long the “main” body of it took me.It took about a year and a half year to complete.   I did a few other projects in between. (Carolyn’s note – She knits, she beads, she crafts…)
  • As you know, thanks to the suggestion of the members of the Friday Morning Knitting Group, I modified the pattern. (Carolyn’s note – Don’t we all do some modification to what we knit??? I know I generally do. The modification was to not add the leaves on both sides. FMKG felt that it was so beautiful with just one side of leaves and that the other side would get lost in the folds of the neck. Mayra ended that side with an I-cord bind off. ) For the I-cord I used the Malabrigo yarn without the mohair.
Thank you Mayra for letting us enjoy and share your stunning work!

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Celebration of Jean’s 80th Birthday

Posted in Birthday Celebrations, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , , on July 18, 2016| 2 Comments »

IMG_0156What better way to get back to the blogging world of Skein Lane but by sharing the celebration of Jean’s 80th birthday. She is much beloved by her fellow FMKG (Friday Morning Knit Group) knitting gang and it was much fun pulling 11 of the gang of 16 or 17 together for a surprise lunch at Skates on the Bay this past Friday. (Thank you to Merle for being the master organizer.)

Jean knew she was being taken to lunch….the surprise was the lunch location….as well as her joint gift certificate to Avenue Yarns (our favorite LYS). Those who weren’t able to join the celebration due to work commitments or travels were certainly missed…..they sent their greetings to Jean.

Jean_80thBD_07.15.16

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Brown Bag Lunch – Speaker’s Forum

Posted in Creativity, knitting, Quilting, Treasures, Water Color, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 12, 2016| Leave a Comment »

My recent retirement from my UC day-time admin job of nearly 8 years has been such a blessing. While I’ve never really left the knitting community, I am now diving back into it and the wonderful community that is part of me.

Some of you may not know that before my Skein Lane retail chapter, I was an employee of the YMCA for about 18 months and went onto become a Board Member after I accepted a position in the software industry……most importantly I was an active user of the YMCA programs….in particular exercise. I stepped away from this wonderful resource about 10 years ago for a variety of reasons…..mostly my schedule and illnesses in my family.

One of my first missions upon retirement was to get back into a regular exercise program. I walked into the Albany YMCA….immediately reconnected with Gail, the Director, and Mary, Exercise and Program Instructor. I was back home! I’ve been enjoying Mary’s creative exercise classes since mid-January. Not only do I feel better but I have lost some weight…yeah! There is another most wonderful benefit….reconnecting not only with Y folks but knitters who are in the Y community.

I quickly learned about the (free) Brown Bag Speakers Forum, presented on the 2nd Monday of every month sponsored by the “Y” and Albany Library.. This month’s speaker was Lawrence Rinder, Director of BAMPFA (UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive). His presentation was so informative about the history of BAMPFA leading up to its new location.

2-barbaraLast month’s Brown Bag speaker was Barbara Hazard.….a former Skein Lane customer who spoke about her art work and time spent in Russia. Not only is Barbara an artist with paints but she is obsessed “self-described” with needlepoint. I recall how many lovely pieces she brought to Skein Lane to have finished into pillows. I do wish I had taken photos back then….maybe I did but that was before I had an iPhone camera with all its storage capabilities. But wait….Barbara has posted some of her needlepoint work on her site.  I am delighted that we are in the midst of planning when we can catch up over coffee before her next upcoming trip to Russia mid-May.

 

 

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“tis the Season – Saturday Knit Group

Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Creativity, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , , on December 31, 2015| Leave a Comment »

The Saturday morning group had their second celebration on Dec 19th….the first one was a joint birthday celebration which was followed up with this  ‘tis the season gathering.

There were so many wonderful happenings. Susanne came down from Chico (she and her husband retired there last year). The cooking theme was desserts….there were many wonderful choices. Maurie couldn’t join us because she was sick but she still sent her GF (gluten-free) cookies. We had so much on the table including champagne, cookies (many made by Diane and Maurie), cakes, egg dishes, baked brie with homemade cranberry sauce, cheeses, and fruit….I fear I may have missed some of the dishes.  Here are two recipes from the dishes on the table. The  Biscotti was made by PJ using her friend’s recipe which is posted on Channeling Nonna’s blog.  I loved this cookie and will be making it soon. Another dish (also prepared by PJ) that many of us “loved” was the Bacon Onion Marmalade.

We even found time to knit when we weren’t eating. The latest showings were worn by PJ and Susanne. PJ’s stunning red cowl was inspired by the pattern for Oliva Cowl from Swan Islands…the yarn was of the same name.

Susanne’s Wallaby Hoody Sweater (pattern from Vogue Knitting) was a beautifully knit garment and fit her perfectly. You may recall my posting from a while back when the sweater was in its infancy stage.

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Saturday Workshop Celebration

Posted in Birthday Celebrations, Celebrations, Events, Friendship, knitting, tagged , , on December 13, 2015| 2 Comments »

The Saturday Knitting Workshop Group just celebrated the first of two December celebrations. This one was to “shout out” birthday greetings this weekend’s gals – Diane, Maurie and Carole – as well as all those we may missed during last few months. Several of us in this group like to cook and others bring the complimentary foods – fruits, dips, cheese, cracker, chips, candy and drinks. We often want to share recipes so a new tab “Food Recipes” was begun yesterday on this blog site…..we will be adding more recipes as soon I hear back from the group.

New week we will celebrate ’tis the Season!

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An Original from “Karen L”

Posted in Celebrations, Christmas, Quilting, tagged , , , on December 9, 2015| 2 Comments »

Karen L quilts and quilts when she isn’t working. This beauty is one of her latest…..made for her sister. I love the design and the colors. The fabric is Michael Miller and the design, color choices, quilting and embellishment are Karen’s creation…..so beautiful.

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Latest “showings”

Posted in Christmas, knitting, tagged , , , on December 7, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Sheri
Strandwander Pattern
PJ
Alice

On the left….going down

  • Sheri’s latest is The Strandwanderer scarf knit in Miss Babs Zombie Apocalypse yarn.
  • PJ has designed what could be the best neckline for a baby sweater which is almost complete. Look closely at the photo and you will see that the back shoulders lap over to the front leaving a flexible rolled cowl for the neckline. I am thinking that every parent will appreciate how easy it will be to dress their child in this gem.
  • Alice had many things to show and tell a couple weeks ago….
    • …..the recently completed Christmas stocking which is chock full of stitch detail.
    • ……the beginnings of a new vest project – Laurien Vest
    • ……the Lineau Shawl knit with Art Yarns Milano.
    • ……the multicolored scarf was knit in Madelinetosh fingering weight, and the pattern is “Watchet” from the book Curls.
  • I recently gifted my niece Betsy with the Lacey Arches Infinity cowl that I knit from yarn in my stash…whoops don’t remember the brand but it is wool. I added the rose brooch to brighten it up.

As Elizabeth Zimmerman said……”Knit on!”

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